Uttarakhand tunnel rescue: Vertical drilling moves swiftly amid race to save trapped workers

Inside a tunnel in northern India's Uttarkashi, 41 workers remained trapped as their ordeal since November 12 continued. On Sunday (Nov 26), rescue operatorsstarted vertical drilling to reach them, after horizontal drilling faced a series of setbacks.

A passage to ensure the supply of food, medicines and essential items has been ensured. A communication channel has been established between tunnel workers and the outside world too.

How long will workers remain trapped inside the tunnel?

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So far, over 20 metres of the required 86 metres of vertical digging has been completed. Four more days are needed to complete the digging, according to an official.

A unit of Madras sappers from the Corps of Engineers of the Indian army also reached the tunnel site to assist the rescue operations.

Vertical drilling is amongsix plans being considered to rescue the trapped workers, with the best solution being horizontal drilling, National Disaster Management Authority said.

Why vertical drilling?

Vertical drilling had to be started after anauger machine used for horizontal drilling broke down and got stuck in the debris.

"The auger machine has to be cut and brought out. It seems that it will be completed soon, within a few more hours. After that manual drilling will begin," Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said.

Now, the work is ongoing to remove the auger machine.

A machine for sideways drilling is expected to arrive early on Monday (Nov 27), according to the NDMA.

The trapped workers hail from poor backgrounds and were working for as less as ₹18,000 (or $216).

A person identified with his last name Chaudhary has said his son is among those stuck inside the tunnel along with 40 others.

"Once he comes out, we will never allow him to work here again," he was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency.

Chaudhary, who hails from Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri, spoke to his son Manjeet on Sunday through a communication channel set up by the authorities.

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"We are very poor and came here after taking a loan of ₹9,000 against my wife's jewellery. Here, the administration gave me a jacket and shoes. They also repaid my loan."

Fifteen workers hail from Jharkhand, eight from Uttar Pradesh, five each from Odisha and Bihar, three from West Bengal, two each from Uttarakhand and Assam, and one from Himachal Pradesh state.

What next?

The top focus is currently to speed up the vertical drilling and removal of the drill blade to resume to horizontal drilling.

Rescuers plan to manually dig through the remaining debris to reach the trapped workers, officials said.

Officials say that going horizontally through the collapsed debris in the tunnel is still the safest option.

(With inputs from agencies)